Nail polish is a magical thing in and of itself – after all, it can completely finish a look and make your nails look chic and fabulous. Since my polish collection is constantly multiplying, I recently began to wonder if there were any other things that I could use my favorite nail polishes for – and turns out, there are!

1. Fixing tights

We all know how frustrating it is when you see a run appearing in your tights that you just put on. This is a definite day ruiner, as you can already start to imagine how much worse it is going to get throughout the hours ahead.

But if this happens to you, don’t worry – clear nail polish can come to the rescue! Just paint a little clear polish on the run when it’s still new and small and voila! Now, the run won’t be able to continue any further and you can rest easy knowing that your run won’t be able to run rampant all day!

2. Custom bobby pins

I picked up this little DIY trick when I was in 4th grade and have loved it ever since! Bobby pins are a staple among my hair supplies but sometimes they can get a little boring. To spice it up, my trick is to hold a bobby pin by the flat bottom part, pick your favorite polish (or polishes) and get creative! You can paint it one color, stripes of two colors, polka dots, or whatever your heart desires! I mean, who wouldn’t want a Chanel Black Pearl bobby pin?!

3. Labeling or personalizing keys

A true sign that you’re entering the real world is watching the number of keys on your key ring increase. Since keys all tend to look similar, this can quickly become quite confusing!

My solution? Paint the tops of your keys with your nail polish with designs that remind you what each key is for. This little tip is definitely a creative way simplify your life. Plus, pretty designs painted with polish definitely beat those little rubber key toppers.

4. Patching window screens

I actually used this little fix-it last summer when I moved into my new apartment and noticed a little tear in one of the screens. Since it was summer and still quite buggy out, I didn’t want to risk having them all fly in!

If you have a small tear in one of your window screens, just paint a little clear polish over it and that will close up the tear and seal it for the future so that the tear can’t get any worse! Of course, this trick won’t work for larger holes, but it’s fabulous in a pinch.

5. Weatherproof envelopes

This trick will help your outgoing mail get to its destination by preventing envelopes or address labels from smudging if they get wet in transit!

If you paint some clear polish over the destination address and your return address (or over your address labels), they will be sealed and protected from rain or whatever your letter may encounter on the way to its destination!

6. Prevent rust on the bottom of cans

I wish I had known about this trick a long time ago – it would have prevented many annoying cleaning sessions!

We’ve all experienced this: You put a can of shaving cream in the shower, use it once, and next thing you know there are rings of rust on your tub or shower – they take forever to get off, and are generally disgusting. However, if you paint some clear polish all over the bottom parts of the can that touch the shower or tub, this won’t be an issue anymore! Nail polish to the rescue once again.

Thoughts?

What do you guys think of these alternative uses for nail polish? Do you have any other awesome tricks that involve nail polish? Let us know in the comments below!